FA Cup can spur title bid, says Mancini

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes victory in the FA Cup can be a launchpad for success in the Premier League after his side ended Manchester United's treble dream.But while Mancini believes victory in the FA Cup could be a turning point for City, the Italian warned that the club still had to win a final against Bolton or Stoke if they are to end a 35-year trophy drought."For us it's important to win the first trophies. If we can win the FA Cup, probably next year we can play for the title," Mancini said.

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London (AFP) - Romantics will pin their hopes on fourth-division Cambridge United when the League Two minnows host Manchester United in the most evocative tie of this weekend's FA Cup fourth-round matches.

Carlos Tevez scored a hat-trick as Manchester City moved up into fourth place in the English Premier League table with a 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at Eastlands here on Monday.Victory meant City maintained their perfect record under Italian manager Roberto Mancini with their fourth straight success even if they did concede their first goal under the former Inter Milan boss when Morten Gamst Pedersen scored for Rovers to make it 3-1.But the match belonged to Argentina's Tevez, the former Manchester United striker, who was in brilliant form.

Roberto Mancini wants to repeat the success he enjoyed as a manager with Inter Milan at Manchester City.Mancini was installed in the Eastlands hotseat when the Premier League side sacked former manager Mark Hughes just hours after the club's 4-3 win at home to Sunderland on Saturday.Speaking to City's website ahead of his first press conference as the club's manager here on Monday, the 45-year-old Mancini said he saw parallels between Inter and City."I hope history repeats itself," he said.

Roberto Mancini is thinking back to his childhood and trying to remember if there was ever a time when he was not quite so obsessed with winning. Eventually, he concludes there was not. His cousin learned the hard way when the nine-year-old Mancini lost a game of table tennis one day.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has set his sights on a top-two finish in the Premier League after claiming his refreshed players can get even better in the last seven games of the season.A crushing 5-0 victory over Sunderland at Eastlands on Sunday saw Mancini's expensively-assembled side climb above Chelsea into third place in the table.Although Mancini said his side had left themselves too much to do to catch Manchester United as they lie 10 points behind the leaders, the Italian believes that second place is not beyond his team.

London (AFP) - Manchester United announced on Tuesday that they have signed Argentina winger Angel di Maria from Real Madrid for a British-record transfer fee of £59.7 million ($98 million, 75 million euros).

Background The Bundesliga became the fourth league to provide both teams for a Champions League Final. La Liga (Real Madrid vs. Valencia ’00), Serie A (Milan vs. Juventus ’03) and the Barclays Premier League (Manchester United vs. Chelsea ’08) all came before. Bayern was making a third appearance in the final of the Champions League in the last four seasons having lost previously to Inter in 2010 and to Chelsea in 2012. Bayern entered the match having already won the Bundesliga and with a date against Stuttgart next weekend in the German Cup Final.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes his side are closing the gap on United as he prepares to face his neighbours in the FA Cup semi finals.City booked a place in the last four against their old rivals with a 1-0 quarter final victory over Championship side Reading.The Eastlands club have not won any major silverware since 1976 and have not even been in an FA Cup semi final since they lost the FA Cup final in 1981.

Rangers manager Walter Smith saluted his side after clinching back-to-back Scottish Premier League titles courtesy of Kyle Lafferty's goal in a 1-0 win over Hibernian to lift some of the gloom amid well-documented financial struggles.It was Smith's ninth title in his two spells at the club and his 19th major trophy in 19 years of management.Since his return to the Ibrox club three-and-a-half years ago Rangers have won six trophies and made it to the UEFA Cup final in 2008, their first appearance in a European final in 35 years.